An investigation is under way into claims a two-year-old girl was abandoned near a busy road in Portugal as her British parents were drunk in a nearby cafe.

Police said they were called to reports the child was alone in her buggy in the village of Carcavelos near the capital Lisbon at about 8pm on Tuesday.

Her parents, said to be English teachers living in Portugal, were later found 100 metres away in a cafe called Manhas do Chocolate.

On a statement on its website, the Policia Seguranca Publica (PSP) said the couple were in an advanced state of intoxication.

The girl was found by police by a busy road in Carcavelos

She was kept overnight in an emergency reception centre for minors, PSP added.

A photograph of the youngster being fed by a woman police officer was posted on PSP's Facebook page.

Later, local officer Rui Vasconcelos told Portuguese TV station TV124 that the parents, aged about 40, came to the police station the following morning to inquire about their daughter after they were reportedly unable to speak properly the evening before.

He said they still appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

Both were asked for documentation to prove they were the child's parents and then left the station without their daughter, who is apparently still in care.